Michigan

Stars of the Cleveland game

STUDS: Richard Hamilton didn't shoot the ball particularly well (3-for-12, 14 points) against Cleveland, but his defense against LeBron James was the best any Piston has done against James in quite some time. The only Cavalier who looked good tonight was Joe Smith, who had 10 points and five rebounds in limited action.

SOLID: Chauncey Billups set the tone with some aggressive moves offensively in the first half, as well as getting Detroit into its offense quickly. He finished with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. Although ex-Piston Ben Wallace had to leave early in the third with back spasms, he still managed to score six points, block two shots and grab five rebounds.

DUDS: You knew Walter Herrmann was looking to make a statement, but missing all six of his shot attempts in just over seven minutes of action wasn't exactly the kind of impression he was looking to make. Sasha Pavlovic had a lot of good looks at the basket, but missed six of his eight shot attempts and finished with just six points.

SUPER SUB: Jason Maxiell turned in yet another solid performance for Detroit, scoring 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Cleveland's Devin Brown had 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field.

UP NEXT: Tuesday at Minnesota. This was the kind of performance the Pistons needed about now. Even in their wins lately, there have enough flaws to where they didn't feel completely good about their effort. Saturday's win over Cleveland was not one of those games. They defended LeBron James - Rip Hamilton, in particular - about as well as he has been defended this season. They closed out on just about every one of Cleveland's jump-shooters, and they got strong performances from their bench, with Maxiell (13 points) delivering on offense, and Theo Ratliff (two blocks and a number of altered shots) making his presence felt on defense. Now comes the challenge of playing with that same level of intensity against a struggling team like Timberwolves.